Let Go
by Allie-hime
Summary: When Kagome is accepted to go to college overseas, she realizes that she must give up her quest for hunting down Naraku. However, InuYasha is hesitant to let her go.


_Disclaimer:_ If I owned InuYasha... oh, the possibilities are endless!

InuYasha: Kagome, will you bear my child?

Haha, I'm actually trying to picture InuYasha pulling a Miroku; the whole 'bear my child' thing is genius! But alas, it's not mine. -sobs-

Three years.

Three years since that fated day. Three years since Kagome fell into the well, where she would change his life forever. He had been sleeping at the time. Pinned to the Goshinboku by his dear beloved. At the time, he didn't know that it had been a trick, a scheme to turn the hanyou and the miko against each other. But it had been too late, for the final act had been done. He had felt the arrow pierce through his chest, sealing him to the Goshinboku.

And for 50 years, he waited.

For 50 years, he slept. Imagine his surprise, when he heard the voice of his miko. Though, he would later on discover that this was not his dear beloved. The girl had been running, as great beasts were not very common in her world. She had been afraid. In her desperation, she had called for him, and thus, his 50 year sleep had ended.

Walking past the old Goshinboku, Kagome smiled. 500 years ago, this had been the place where she first met InuYasha. Perhaps one might say it had been a coincidence, that she had been pulled into the old dry well, only to find herself face to face with a hanyou, not to mention a hoshi, a youkai exterminator, a kitsune, and a two-tailed. Though, in her heart, despite it's oddity, it had all felt so right, like she was meant to fall into the well in the first place.

In one hand, Kagome held her family's mail, though in the other, was another envelope, addressed to her. Kagome had reread the entire thing more than ten times in the past five minutes, yet she still had a hard time believing it all.

"Kagome, did you get the mail?" her mother called from the kitchen.

The young girl nodded, "Yeah, I got it right here. Though, Mom, you should probably read this." She handed her mother the letter, just so she could confirm that she wasn't dreaming.

"My god, Kagome, you were accepted into Harvard University!" her mother gasped, and Kagome sighed happily. She was right. This wasn't a dream. "You're going to be attending one of the best schools in America!"

"Yes, but that also means that I'm going to be going overseas," said the reincarnated miko.

Her mother looked up, for but a moment, before folding the letter and handing it back to her. She knew what her daughter was thinking. "Kagome, if you're worried about the Feudal Era, you can still see them everytime you visit us."

Kagome sighed, her thoughts wandering to the hanyou she had fallen in love with. After three years, they still hadn't defeated Naraku. And she knew without a doubt that he was going to be pissed at the idea of not having a 'jewel detector' around. Kagome sighed sadly, "I know, but it's just not the same."

Without another word, she grabbed her backpack, and swung it over her shoulder. "I'll be back by Monday morning. It's the last day of school, and I think I want to spend the weekend in the Feudal Era." Her mother nodded, knowingly, and smiled, as if she knew what was going on in the reincarnated miko's head. "Well, have fun! And say hello to InuYasha for me!"

Kagome waved to her mother, before she was out the door.

-

She was greeted by a blinding blue light, the moment Kagome jumped into the well. A second later, she felt the dirt ground at her feet. Looking up, was a clear blue sky, a perfect day in the Feudal Era. Though Kagome barely noticed, for at the top of the old well, was a figure in red. His back was turned to her, though the silver hair, and the red haori instantly told her it was her hanyou.

"InuYasha!"

His ears twitched slightly, before he turned in her direction. Another second later, she was greeted by a pair of golden eyes, which, for a brief moment, had softened at the sight of the girl from the future. And then, the softness was gone, and the arrogance returned. "Keh! Where the hell have you been? You said you'd be here last night! Where the hell have you been?"

Kagome sighed to herself, as she climbed to the top of the well. No... he definitely wasn't going to be happy when he heard her news.

"I haven't been home for so long," said Kagome, from the edge of the well. "I missed my family and my friends. Though, thanks for waiting for me, InuYasha. It really does mean a lot to me."

"Keh! No need to get all mushy. You're the only one who can sense the sacred jewel shards, remember?"

Kagome sighed to herself. Still the same old arrogant hanyou. _'So much for missing me...'_ she thought to herself sadly, as she lifted her heavy yellow backpack over her shoulder, ready to begin the walk to the village.

The journey was quiet. Almost too quiet. Neither had spoken a word, although Kagome couldn't help but glance at her hanyou every once in awhile. He seemed so... troubled. Like he was hiding something behind those eyes of gold. Kagome sighed, for she knew she would have to break her news to him, along with the rest of the group. Though, seeing the inner-battle within him, she wasn't sure how he would take it.

Finally, Kagome decided to be the one to break the silence. "Hey, InuYasha?"

"What?"

For a moment, Kagome wasn't sure what exactly she was going to say. _'InuYasha, I'm going to college, so you won't have your sacred jewel detector around. But don't worry, because I know Kikyo can always sense the shards for you.'_ Immediately, she felt a pit in her stomach. Because she could only imagine what InuYasha and Kikyo would do once she was gone. Finally, she spoke, "Is something wrong? Did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Feh... it's nothing." He sounded so pitiful now. Like he was forcing that statement out of his own mouth. Kagome's first reaction was to question him, sit him until he would finally confess. Though, she decided against it. Afterall, he'd probably once get pissed. Kagome smiled to herself. Same old stubborn hanyou.

"Kagome-chan!" a female voice called. Sango was waving to them from outside of Kaede's hut. Miroku followed her, rubbing a fresh pink hand print on his cheek. Kagome shook her head, though grinning from ear to ear; even after their engagement, the monk still couldn't keep his hands to himself. InuYasha noticed this, before muttering, "He never learns, does he?"

Kagome couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, but InuYasha, I think that's one of the reasons why Sango loves him."

InuYasha rolled his eyes, even with the youkai exterminator approaching. However, Sango didn't even notice, as she was very much happy at the arrival of her friend. "Kagome-chan! How are you? Everyone's missed you." As she said this, her eyes averted to the hanyou standing next to her, as if to say, _'Including InuYasha.' _Kagome could tell what she was trying to say, and forced a smile on her face. As much as she loved the hanyou, she'd always be second to his heart, no matter what her friends told her. She had told herself that many years ago.

"I missed you too," said Kagome, dropping her heavy yellow bag at her feet. "I brought some extra supplies," she announced, digging through the contents of her bag. "I have to be back in two days, since it's the last day of school. I'll be graduating high school then."

Kagome continued to dig through her bag, brown eyes searching for the items that she had brought for her friends. "I brought some extra ramen for you, InuYasha. Enough to last maybe a few weeks. Inu... InuYasha?"

When she looked up, her hanyou was nowhere to be seen. Now only she and Sango remained outside Kaede's hut. Kagome looked at her friend, as if hoping for an explanation for his strange behavior. "He's been like that for a week," Sango explained.

"What happened?"  
The youkai exterminator sighed to herself, a sign that this good either be only very good or bad, "Kikyo came by while you were gone," she explained as gently as she could. "The thing is, InuYasha didn't go to her. Finally, she ended up coming for him herself. We didn't hear much of it, though when we found InuYasha later, he told us that he wasn't going to hell with Kikyo. We haven't seen her ever since." She swallowed... hard. "Don't tell me you don't see it, Kagome. Haven't you seen the way he looks at you, or the way he protects you? And the way he gets jealous over Kouga? He loves you, Kagome. He tries to hide it, but he loves you."

Kagome bit her lip. "Sango... even if he did love me, there's something you should know. And... please don't tell the others until I tell them. InuYasha's probably going to be pissed once I break it to him, but I want you to know it first." Sango nodded, and Kagome knew for a fact that she could trust the youkai exterminator to keep her secret. "I have to go soon. I'm leaving... I'm going overseas to study in one of the best schools in their country. I won't go into great detail, but... I'm leaving, and I'm never coming back."

Sango smiled, sadly. "Well... we're going to miss you Kagome. But, the thing is-"

_"You're leaving?"_ a voice yelled furiously. Kagome knew that voice; apparently, the hanyou had heard every word of their conversation. She should have known... with his great sense of hearing... of course, he would hear.

InuYasha jumped from the roof of Kaede's hut, landing in between the reincarnated miko, and the youkai slayer. Ignoring Sango completely, he glared hard at Kagome, as if the whole thing was her fault entirely. "You're abandoning the sacred jewel in order to go to this 'school' thing of yours? Don't you realize Naraku is only SHARDS away from collecting the entire jewel?"

Kagome gasped. "You jerk! There's more to my life than jewel shards, you know!"

"InuYasha..." Sango called, trying to get the hanyou off her friend's case. "It's Kagome's decision. As much as we'll miss her-"

"BACK OFF!" InuYasha bellowed. "If it wasn't for her... and her little HOMESICKNESS, we'd have the entire jewel by now! Besides, it's none of YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS!"

"InuYasha, SIT!" Kagome yelled at the top of her lungs. And in an instant, InuYasha came crashing down to the ground, causing a good number of villagers to turn their heads. Kagome stood over him, and for an instant, she looked almost threatening to him. "It's none of your business, either! UNLIKE YOU, I HAVE A FAMILY! I have a family, who loves me and cares about me!"

That stung. Though Kagome couldn't see it from his hole in the ground, memories of his mother and Kikyo flashed through InuYasha's mind. Though the pain was enough to turn his sadness into anger. As soon as he could move, he was in her face again, their noses barely touching, though fire in his eyes.

"You selfish BITCH! Not everyone is as lucky as you to actually HAVE those luxuries! So STOP COMPAINING! Miroku lost his father and grandfather to a HELLHOLE that's also going to KILL HIM if we don't defeat Naraku! Sango lost her entire village to him, and now she's also losing her little brother!"

"Don't you dare bring me into this conversation, InuYasha!" Sango yelled, one hand on her hiriakotsu, ready to strike him when necessary.

InuYasha turned to her, his glare still glued to his features. "I thought I told you to stay out of it!" he yelled.

"You leave Kagome-chan alone!" said Sango, now also glaring at the hanyou. "It's her decision, and perhaps if you treated her a little better, you'd actually have a better chance of her staying with you."

"Feh! Why would I want her to stay, if all she's going to do is slow us down! Stupid wench, she can't even save herself when we're fighting against Naraku!" No... that came out wrong. InuYasha turned to Kagome, and already, he could see her glare being replaced by a look of sadness. He hadn't meant to say that. "No... Kagome..." he managed to say. "I'm sorry..." He reached out to touch her, to hold her, to tell her that he was sorry. He didn't mean it like that.

"Don't touch me," she spat out. "If I'm so useless, you should have said something." Her voice was no longer full of anger, but rather, an overwhelming sadness. An unbearable heartbreak.

"Kagome..."

She turned away, her eyes filled with unshed tears. He could see her retreating to Kaede's hut, where she, no doubt, wanted to be alone. "Sango-chan, I think I'll stay for one more night," she said to her friend, though making sure InuYasha heard her as well. "I want to say good-bye to the rest of the villagers before I go. As for you, InuYasha..." she glared at the hanyou, though now, it looked pitiful. Tears were making it's first marks on her cheeks, until finally, she knew she could no longer hold it. The miko from the future... began to cry.

"Kagome..." he approached her slowly, just praying that he could earn her forgiveness.

Through her sobs, she managed to make a muffled, "SIT!" before InuYasha came crashing to the ground again, landing face first in the dirt. Another moment later, he managed to get up, his golden eyes so afraid, so saddened by her tears. Any moment before now, it would have taken her breath away, and made her his, though it now proved how much of a fool she was. Silently, she entered the hut, with InuYasha about to follow her, though one glare from Sango told him it was best to keep away.

"Kagome! Please, Kagome! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" Now, he was calling to her from behind Kaede's doorway. Villagers turned their heads; some pitied the hanyou, while others felt he deserved it. InuYasha paid no attention to them, however. Another 'Sit!' came from the hut, and InuYasha fell face-first into the ground.

Kagome reemerged from the hut, standing over the hanyou with a hard glare pressed against her face. "I'm going home tomorrow," she told him, softly though sadly. "But today, I just want to be with Shippo, and the others. If you were any kind of _friend,_" the last word came out so bitterly, it made InuYasha's heart sting. "... you'd... you'd let me go." Another second later, she stormed off, though InuYasha didn't even notice, to distracted by his own broken heart.

Sango approached him, though this time, she wasn't glaring. Instead, a look of pity crossed her features. "InuYasha..." she asked softly. "I know this is a bad time to ask, but what exactly happened between you and Kikyo a few days ago?"

Grunt.

Sango assumed he didn't want to talk about it, and so, picked up her hiriakotsu, and was about to retreat, when she heard the hanyou's voice, though now, he sounded so sad, so heartbroken, it nearly scared her, "I told Kikyo I wanted to be with Kagome."

That had been enough.

-

The day came, and passed quicker than Kagome thought. As soon as school was over, she had decided that it would be for the best if she didn't come back for the summer, as she knew it would only make things more difficult later on. By then, she would never be able to leave.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to help you defeat Naraku," Kagome sighed, as she hugged the youkai exterminator. "Though, I did leave some extra food for you guys, just so you won't have to go hungry. I'll come back during the holidays, though, so you don't have to worry."

"I'm going to miss you, Kagome-chan," said Sango. "And don't worry about Naraku. You've done enough for us over the years."

Kagome smiled, as a wailing kitsune jumped on her shoulder to hug her once more. "Kagome! Will you be back soon?"

The reincarnated miko smiled, as she pet Shippo on his head. He was like a little brother to her, and of course, she was especially sad about leaving him behind, though she knew the kitsune was in good hands. Miroku and Sango, along with InuYasha and the villagers, would take good care of him. "I'll be back, I promise, Shippo. Just... don't let Inuyasha give you a hard time, alright?"

"Speaking of InuYasha..." Miroku said, scanning the area for the missing hanyou. "Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

Kagome bit her lip. She hated leaving it like this; she wanted to make amends with him, just let him know that she didn't hate him. At the same time, she wanted to tell him; tell him that she loved him, she would always love him, no matter what. She had believed that she could never replace Kikyo, though just having him know would be good enough for her. "Well... if you see him, just tell him that I'll see him during the holiday's, alright? And..." a sad smile crossed her features. "Tell him... tell him that I love him."

The rest of the group glanced at each other, before looking back at the girl from the future. And at that moment, they understood. The sadness never left them at the moment, as Kagome climbed into the well, and jumped in. They knew she would be back, though until then, it would be a long wait.

-

That night, they found InuYasha in the Goshinboku, staring blankly at the night sky. It was true, that he would see her again. Although, the rest of the group knew he was never one for patience. He didn't even notice their presence, until finally, Miroku's call broke him from his silent spell. "InuYasha!"

InuYasha groaned. "Go away."

"She'll come back," said Sango. "She even said so herself. All you have to do is be patient." Another groan, though Sango decided that she had to know the answer to the question that she had been asking herself since Kagome left. "InuYasha, why didn't you come and say good-bye to her? I'm sure she would have liked that. She doesn't hate you, you should know that."

InuYasha had to ask himself that question, though in the end, he already knew the answer. Their previous argument. She had told him to let her go. To be honest, he more than cared about her. He loved her.

"I'm letting her go," he said, and he watched as his voice echoed in the wind. And for a moment, a brief moment, Sango and Miroku thought they saw tears in his eyes. Though the moment didn't last, for as soon as they came, they were gone, though only for a moment. They'd be back, eventually. They knew that much.

They'd be back. And so would Kagome.

-

This was intended to be a one-shot, though I am seriously considering a sequel here. So, here's the plan: review, and tell me if you want a sequel or not. Or, I will leave it like this. I don't consider it a sad ending at all, but rather, more of a hopeful one, because we know Kagome will be back, but InuYasha is still a bit sad. So, review, tell me what you want. Because, of course, everyone loves a good reviewer!

Thanks for reading.


End file.
